Love Me Tender
by TheHornyVirgin
Summary: Jack professes his love for Charlie and their love blossoms, but soon after, a tragic event changes Charlie forever and their relationship is put under a strain. Can Charlie and Jack pull through it together or will their love be shattered forver?
1. Secret Confessions

Hello, all me peoples out there! I really hope you like this story. I LOVE slash stories, especially CharlieJack ones. Seeing as there aren't many CharlieJack slash stories out there, I thought I would write this one. Again, I really hope you like it. If you have any ideas for it or helpful suggestions, please let me know. I am always open to new ideas. :) Anyway, on with the story.

Chapter 1: Secret Confessions

Jack Shephard walked down the tranquil beach, alone. He did this many times; sometimes every day. This was his way of clearing his mind of all the hustle and bustle of the previous day's goings on. Somehow, he found complete serenity in walking down the lonely expanse of sandy beach. It was nearing sunset and the fiery orange sun cast a pale glow to everything and it gently reflected off the frothy waves as they rolled in from God knows where, crashing softly on the sandy shore only to be swept back out again and replaced by a new wave. He walked at a leisure pace right beside where the waves washed in to the shore, not quite reaching his bare feet, but every once in a while a wave would seem brave and it would gently wash over his feet. The cool air smelled of cool ocean and tropical fruit and flowers. A gentle breeze blew in from the ocean and lightly ruffled the leaves of the trees a few feet way from him on the outskirts of the dense jungle. But all of this seemed to be a slight blur to Jack for one reason and one reason only: because the one he loved was not by his side. Oh, no, it was not Kate or Juliet or Ana-Lucia......it was a certain rock star: Charlie Pace.

Jack flet so confused; he had never felt this way about anyone. He had never dreamed he would have feelings for a man....not until he met Charlie a little more than a month ago. He wanted more than anything to tell Charlie how he felt, but Charlie would surely reject him; how could Charlie feel that same way about him? It was impossible. Jack wanted so much to tell Charlie the way he felt, but fear of rejection stopped him before he could say anything. If Charlie rejected him, it would be more than Jack could take; his heart would be broken forever. He longed to feel Charlie in his arms, to love him and stay with him forever. He wished that Charlie could walk here beside him down this beautiful beach. If only there were some way he could tell him.....some way to let him know his true feelings......

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Charlie Pace stepped into the small tent he had constructed for himself close to Hurley's tent. It had been a long day for him and he could not wait to lay down and just fall asleep, oblivious to the world. He closed the flap of his tent and walked over to his bed, which was constructed of three airplane seat cushions situated in a straight row on the ground. He was about to take his shirt off and lay down when he noticed something. There was a neatly folded piece of paper laying on the bundled up blanket he used as a pillow. He sat down on the side of his bed and picked up the piece of paper, unfolding it. Written on the paper was a note:

_Charlie, _

_Meet me in the caves at 8:30 tonight. Come alone. I have something very important to talk to you about. _

_Jack._

There was a certain urgency about the note that made Charlie wonder what Jack was so desperate to discuss with him. He folded the piece of paper and shoved it in his pocket. He stood up off his bed and stepped outside. He was met by a cool burst of wind from the ocean. Chill bumps appeared all over him and he looked around, seeing that most everyone else were in their tents. The moon shone bright and silvery in the night sky above him. He took a deep breath, inhaling the lovely salty air of the ocean. He turned and walked across the camp to the edge of the jungle and followed the trail they had made that lead to the caves that they once occupied. He reached the caves in about ten minutes and he follwed the smell of wood burning to the most secluded part of the cave. He rounded the corner and saw Jack sitting on a large blanket on the ground with a small fire burning a brilliant shade of orange in front of him. Charlie cleared his throat to announce his arrival. Jack looked up and could not help but slightly smile when he saw Charlie.

"You wanted to speak to me about somthing?" Charlie asked.

"Yeah." Jack said, "Come sit down."

Charlie walked over and sat down on the blanket beside Jack. There was a long silence without either of them saying a word. Jack's mind was racing, trying to think of the right words to say. After what seemed like forever, He finally began.

"Charlie.....I, um....ther's something very important I need to tell you, I just....I can't seem to pick the right words." Jack said, a little frustrated with himself.

"Well, try to." Charlie said.

"I, um....I have these special feelings for someone.....and I can't seem to be able to tell them." Jack said.

"Who?" Charlie asked.

Jack took a deep breath, here it goes.

"You, Charlie." Jack said.

Jack heard a slight gasp come from Charlie and he tensed up, fearing what was to come next.

"How long have you felt like this?" Charlie asked.

"E-ever since the first time I saw you the day we crashed here." Jack answered, "I know this seems sudden and I know you couldn't possibly feel the same way and--"

"What do you mean I couldn't feel the same way?" Charlie interrupted.

"Well, I've seen you and Claire....." Jack said.

Charlie discarded that statement; he was only with Claire to try to hide the fact that he liked men. It had always been a secret that he very closely guarded. He dared not tell Liam or his father for fear of what they would do.

"Jack, just tell me how you feel." Charlie said.

"I never thought I would fee this way about someone......I never thought I would feel this way about a man. Every time I see you, the rest of the world just disappears and it's just me and you. I have dreams about you almost every night. I wake up some mornings after having a dream about you and I'm so hard that it hurts. And I have to pleasure myself because if I don't....." Jack's voice trailed off.

"You'll do what?" Charlie asked, curious as to what Jack would say.

"Because if I don't, the first time I saw you, I would just push you up against a tree and make love to you forever." Jack said, "I pleasure myself because I don't want to hurt you.....I would never hurt you."

There was a long silence between them once again.

"Jack...." Charlie said, leaning in to whisper in Jack's ear, "I have dreams about you, too."

"You do?" Jack asked.

"Yes. I wake up hard some mornings, too. Those mornings, I wish you were with me to.....alleviate my tension. I love you, too, Jack"

Jack just sat there and stared at Charlie, unable to find his voice for the longest time. His dreams had finally come true: Charlie felt the same way about him! Jack slowly leaned in and softly pressed his lips to Charlie's. Charlie kissed back hungrily, delighting in the feel of Jack's warm lips against his. Jack brought his hand up and gently caressed Charlie's cheek. Charlie felt a warm shiver run up his spine and he moaned into Jack's mouth. Jack took that as a signal to go further and he teased at Charlie's lips with his tongue. Charlie gladly opened his mouth slightly and let Jack slip his tongue in. Jack moaned and he felt himself begin to harden. Charlie's mouth was soft and warm and he tasted so good: like fruit and warm, tropical air. Jack inched forward and gently pushed Charlie down onto the soft blanket. Charlie sighed as Jack settled on top of him, pressing firmly against a certain part of his body. Charlie lightly gasped as Jack trailed his kisses down to his neck. Charlie moaned and tilted his head back, allowing Jack to attack the soft flesh of his throat. Jack leaned up on his knees and pulled Charlie's T-shirt up to reveal his abdomen. He leaned down and kissed the warm flesh. Charlie moaned and his head rolled to the side as Jack placed his gentle kisses all over his abdomen. Jack moved Charlie's T-shirt up and pulled it up over his head. Jack gasped softly at the sight of Charlie's half-naked form before him. Charlie's skin was tanned from the tropical sun and the orange firelight flickered playfully across his skin, making him seem to glow softly. His torso was firm and slightly muscled. Jack gave a louder and more harsher gasp when he felt himself harden. Charlie saw the large bulge appear in the front of Jack's jeans and he felt a deep, longing need ache between his legs.

"Oh, Jack...." Charlie moaned, feeling his manhood begin to become hard.

Jack reached for Charlie's hips and slowly slid his jeans down his slender, muscled legs, exposing his most private part. Now Charlie was completely naked and beginning to become aroused before Jack.

"God, Charlie...." Jack moaned, leaning down and kissing Charlie with bruising force, ".....you're so beautiful."

Charlie groaned into Jack's mouth as he hardened. Jack moved his kisses downward, gently nipping at the exposed flesh. Charlie squirmed beneath him and gripped the blanket. He gasped as Jack kissed him just below his heart and slowly licked up his breastbone. Jack slowly moved lower, leaving no part of Charlie's body unattended. Charlie let out a sound that was somewhere between a whimper and a moan as Jack neared his most private part. He, almost on reflex, bucked his hips upward, but Jack dodged him.

"Charlie, I don't want this to be quick." Jack said.

Charlie moaned and squirmed, trying to reach Jack to rub against him at least to ease some of the tension. Jack giggled and leaned back down and came to within a hair's bredth away from Charlie's rock-hard shaft. Charlie arched his back, and gasped.

"P-Please, Jack.....please...." he pleaded.

Jack slowly licked up the underside of Charlie's shaft, right up the throbbing vein that ran along it. Charlie bucked and arched his back, almost coming, but he forced himself to stay his release.

"Jack!" Charlie cried out.

Charlie felt a need so deep and fiery that he could hardly stand it. He ached to feel Jack thrusting inside him. He needed him with every fiber of his being. Charlie looked down and he saw Jack on his knees, preparing himself for entering. He had spit in his hand and he was using it to slick his shaft. The sight before him made Charlie harden to such a painful state that he groaned and gripped the blanket beneath him. Jack spat in his hand again and gently massaged it over Charlie's entrance. Charlie's heart pounded as Jack leaned down over him. Charlie spread his legs wide and allowed Jack to settle between them. He felt the head gently push against his entrance and he tensed slightly.

"Relax." Jack whispered as he slowly pushed forward.

Charlie let out a series of harsh gasps as he felt the head breach him; then slowly the long, thick shaft penetrated him. Jack paid close attention to Charlie's reaction as he sheathed himself in heaven. Charlie choked as he felt himself being stretched and filled. Tears slipped from the corners of his tightly closed eyes. This was the first time he'd been with a man, so he was a virgin in this area.

"Just relax." Jack whispered into Charlie's ear.

Charlie slowly relaxed around Jack and his insides caressed him like a warm, soothing liquid. Jack looked into Charlie's eyes and he knew he was ready. Jack pulled almost all the way out and plunged back into Charlie, raising a throaty cry from him. Jack lightly thrust inside him and a hot sweat broke out all over their bodies. Charlie gasped and tilted his head back. Jack seized the opportunity and attacked the hot flesh of his throat, sucking gently on the smooth flesh. Charlie slowly ran his hands down Jack's slick back, reveling in the feeling of the silky-smooth flesh beneath his hands. Jack's thrusts became harder and deeper as his need increased.

"Oh, Jack...." Charlie cried in ecstasy, holding tightly to Jack as he pounded his erection inside him.

Jack captured Charlie's mouth in a bruising kiss, drinking him as if he tasted of the finest of wines and he longest to quench him thirst. Charlie groaned into Jack's mouth and wrapped his legs around Jack's waist and pulling him closer. Charlie's body was racked with need and it felt like it was impossible to quench it. Charlie's cries were becoming louder, joined with Jack's moans of desperation as they neared their release. Charlie almost screamed when he felt Jack's hand snake between them and grip his shaft. Jack pumped his hand up and down Charlie's hardness, keeping in time with his thrusts as pounded into Charlie.

"Oh, please, Jack.....please.....oh, oh, harder......do it harder." Charlie cried, tears of ecstasy spilling down his cheeks.

Jack could not stand it any longer he pulled almost all the way out and with all the strength he could muster, he slammed the entire length of his member into Charlie. They both cried out as Jack bucked inside Charlie, the heat mounting and mounting until it finally burst forth into the most amazing orgasm ever. Charlie bit his lower lip until it bled and he let out pathetic little whimpers and cried as he was seized by the heat. Charlie felt a small flash of pain as Jack bit down on his shoulder to stifle his screams. With one final hard thrust, they both came. Jack sent exploding jets of hot seed deep inside Charlie and Charlie released between them, coating Jack's hand with the warm fluid. Jack collapsed on top of Charlie, gasping wildly to catch a breath. He could feel Charlie's heart pounding and Charlie could barely breathe from trying to gasp for air. Their bodies felt like Jell-o and they couldn't move for the longest time. Once Jack could move, he weakly rolled off Charlie, allowing him to breathe better. Jack looked over to Charlie; he hadn't moved; he just lay there, gasping with his legs still spread wide apart. The sheen of sweat covered his body and a pool of white liquid covered his abdomen. Charlie opened his eyes and looked over at Jack and smiled.

"That was wonderful." he said quietly.

Jack placed his hand at Charlie's hip and turned him over to face him. He pulled him close and they wrapped their arms around one another. Charlie leaned his forehead against Jack's.

"I love you." he whispered.

Jack smiled and placed a light kiss on Charlie's forehead. He tenderly wiped the blood away from Charlie's lip where he had bitten it to stifle his screams of ecstasy. He placed a gentle kiss to Charlie's lips, licking away the excess blood. Charlie sighed and he felt weak. They stayed there the rest of the night, soon falling blissfully asleep in each other's arms.....

A/N: Well, there it is. Do you like it? **PLEASE REVIEW!!!!!!!!!!!!**


	2. In the Shower

Hi, I'm back! I really hope you liked the previous chapter.

Chapter 2: In the Shower

Jack awoke early the next morning to the sounds of jungle life. He opened his eyes and saw the sunlight shining gently through the green leaves of the jungle canopy above him. The air smelled fresh and it was cool. The blanket beneath him was slightly damp from the morning dew settling on it. He looked to the side and saw Charlie still laying there. He looked so beautiful and peaceful. He was nestled close to Jack's chest and he breathed deeply in his sleep. Jack was loathe to disturb him, but they had to get bac to the beach before people came looking for them.

"Charlie." Jack said, gently shaking him.

Charlie inhaled sharply and moaned, not wanting to get up.

"Come on, Charlie. We have to get back to the beach." Jack said.

Charlie moaned and slowly peeped his eyes open. He smiled when he saw Jack.

"Morning, sleepy-head." Jack said, grinning.

Charlie rolled over onto his back and stretched his tight muscles. He sat up and wiped the sleep from his eyes. He saw that their fire from last night had burned down to the last smouldering ashes and the grey smoke drifted slowly up into the air, diffusing as it climbed higher. Charlie stood up and went to the jumbled pile of clothes laying beside the fire. He found his jeans and his dark blue T-shirt and put them on. Jack did the same and he folded up the blanket they had layed on and tucked it under his left arm. He wrapped his other arm around Charlie's waist and they walked off into the jungle. They stayed silent most of the trip and Jack removed hi arm from Charlie's waist when they neared the beach, not wanting anyone to get suspicious of them. They stepped into the beach camp and everyone was already up and fixing their breakfast. Sawyer, as always, sat outside his large tent reading a book with his dorky glasses on. Claire sat outside her tent writing in her diary with Aaron in his crib next to her.

"You hungry?" Jack asked as they neared the kitchen.

"Yeah." Charlie nodded.

They made their way to the kitchen and Jack found a box of cereal and he poured some in half of a coconut shell. They found that coconut shells came in quite handy as a substitute for a bowl. As Charlie and Jack nibbled at their cereal, Locke approached them with his backpack slung across his shoulders.

"Morning, Jack." he greeted politely, "I think you and I have the first shift down in the Hatch."

"John, is it okay if Charlie and me take the first shift?" Jack asked, hoping that John would agree.

"Yeah, I guess that would be okay." John said after a short pause, "I was gonna do some hunting anyway."

With that, he walked off to find his knives for some boar hunting. Once Charlie and Jack finished off their breakfast of dry cereal and a banana, Charlie went and got his backpack out of his tent and he and Jack set off into the jungle. When Jack was sure they were out of sight of anyone on the beach, he moved closer to Charlie and wrapped his arm around his waist. Charlie smiled and leaned his head on Jack's shoulder. He felt so safe with Jack and he was glad they finally knew their true feelings for each other. He also wondered what Jack had planned since he asked for him and Charlie to take the first shift in the Hatch, which would last for four hours......

They reached the Hatch in about ten minutes and they entered through the 'back door'. They walked down the hallway to the computer room. Surprisingly, there was no one there. Jack set his backpack down in the plush chair on the other side of the room and walked over to sit in the rolling chair in front of the computer table. He saw that there were about ten minutes left on the timer.

"I think I'm gonna go take a shower." Charlie said, deciding to take advantage of the fact that the Hatch had running water.

He walked out of the computer room and dropped his backpack onto the couch in the living area. He found a bottle of shampoo in the pantry and walked across the large room to the bathroom, shutting the door behind him. After about twenty minutes, Jack was a little worried; he'd never heard of anyone taking twenty minutes to take a shower. He stood up from his seat and crossed the large room in long strides. He quietly opened the bathroom door and tiptoed over to the open door to the shower. He peeked inside to make sure Charlie was all right and right away, he knew why Charlie was taking so long. Charlie stood leaned against the concrete wall of the large shower, water cascading down his gloriously naked body. His knees were bent slightly as if they were about to give out as he leaned his back on the wall. His head was also leaned back on the wall and his eyes were closed dreamily and his mouth was slightly open. But, the first thing Jack noticed was that Charlie was hard. He had his hand wrapped around his manhood and he was rapidly stroking it, gasping and moaning as he did. God, he was so amazingly beautiful. Jack was instantly hard at the sight before him. His manhood strained against his jeans and it ached to be free.

_What could he be thinking about_? Jack wondered she absorbed the beautiful scene before him, _Is he thinking about me?_

Jack fought a battle in his mind; what was he going to do? Should he cross the shower and seek his release or should he just turn quietly and leave, letting Charlie seek his own release? Jack took a deep breath and he knew what he had to do.

"Charlie." Jack said to let Charlie know he was there.

Charlie's eyes snapped open and he jumped in surprise. His cheeks turned a pale pink color as he was slightly embarrassed.

"Don't be embarrassed." Jack said, crossing the shower in long strides, not caring when his jeans and his green T-shirt were instantly soaked.

Jack pressed his body against Charlie's and slammed their lips together. Charlie moaned and brought his arms up around Jack's neck, placing one hand on the back of his head. Jack snaked his hands around behind Charlie and ran them down the long exspance of his slick back to his wonderful hips. Charlie moaned and allowed Jack to slightly lift him into the air. He locked his legs around Jack's waist, groaning as their hard shafts pressed together.

"Charlie....." Jack said, parting the kiss, ".......I have to have you now. I can't go slow or easy, but I promise......I promise that later I will make love to you all night long. But Ihave to take you now. I can't stand it."

Charlie shuddered at the passion in his voice and he nodded, unable to find his voice. Jack briefly stepped away from Charlie, setting him down on the concrete floor. He quickly shed his jeans and his T-shirt. Charlie moaned when he saw Jack's naked, wet body before him. Jack was so hard that it almost hurt and he aches for release. Jack stepped back up to Charlie, lifting him up and letting him wrap his legs around him again. Jack wasted no time in shoving his aching shaft inside Charlie's waiting entrance. Charlie could not help but let out a small yelp as his insides were not fully relaxed. Jack gripped Charlie's smooth hips and began thrusting in and out of him at a rapid pace. Charlie's entire body tingled and waves of intense pleasure washed over him as Jack continued to pound inside of him. Charlie wrapped his arms around Jack's broad shoulders and tilted his head back, moaning in unspeakable pleasure. Jack attacked Charlie's exposed throat, kissing and sucking at the warm flesh. He could feel Charlie's rapid pulse beating against his lips and this aroused him even further. Charlie suddenly found himself unable to breathe as the orgasm tore through his body. He knew no one else was in the Hatch with them and he let out a loud scream as Jack's thrusts became more powerful and deep. Jack groaned loudly as he emptied his hot seed deep inside Charlie. Jack felt his legs weaken underneath him and he slowly sunk to the floor, bringing Charlie with him. Jack sat on his knees and Charlie kept his legs wrapped firmly around Jack, Jack's member still deeply inside him. He loved the feeling of Jack being inside him; he wished that wonderful feeling would never go away. Jack rested his chin on Charlie's shoulder and they both gasped for air as hot water pooled around them. Jack looked up into Charlie's gorgeous blue eyes and gently kissed his swollen pink lips. He lightly stroked Charlie's wet hair and Charlie rested his hands at the base of Jack's back. Their sweet kiss was suddenly interrupted by a sudden burst of cold water from the shower. They both cried out and scrambled to get out from under the cold water. Jack quickly turned the water off and turned and saw Charlie had stood up and wrapped a white towel around his waist.

"Bloody hell, I wish the water wouldn't do that!" Charlie said, wiping some water from his eyes.

He walked over to the wide counter which was covered by a thin layer of tan granite. He leaned over and wiped the 'fog' from the large mirror. He suddenly felt a strong pair of arms wrap around his chest and he relaxed. Jack slowly reached down and undid the white towel that was wrapped around Charlie's waist.

"What are you doing?" Charlie asked quietly.

"I want to look at us." Jack said, tossing the towel aside.

He wrapped his arms around Charlie's waist from behind and rested his chin on Charlie's shoulder. He gazed into the mirror and smiled at the sight. Charlie was smiling slightly and his muscled body was relaxed in Jack's gentle embrace.

"Look at us, Charlie." Jack said, "It's so perfect."

Charlie looked in the mirror and was surprised by how much arousal he felt from it. Jack's hands gently caressed his body and he placed soft kisses to Charlie's neck and shoulders. Jack slad a hand between them and lightly fingered Charlie's wet center. Charlie gasped when he felt jack slip a finger inside him.

"Do you like this, Charlie? Do you like watching me touch you?" Jack asked in a low, intamate voice.

"Yes." Charlie managed to gasp out as Jack slowly moved his finger in and out of him.

He gripped the counter in front of him, afraid his legs would give out at any second.

"Do you want to watch me take you, Charlie?" Jack whispered into Charlie's ear, "Do you want me to take you from behind so you can watch us?"

Charlie didn't trust his voice so he just leaned forward, supporting himself on his elbows on the counter. He spread his legs wide, making his entrance available to Jack, who stood fully aroused behind him. This time, Jack took it slow, the way it should be done. He gripped Charlie's hips and positioned the tip of his hard shaft at his entrance. He slowly pushed forward, making Charlie gasp in pleasure. This new position allowed Jack to penetrate Charlie at a whole new angle and he went much deeper inside of him. Charlie groaned as Jack sheathed himself very deeply inside his hot core. Both men moaned as Jack began thrusting. Charlie whimpered with need and pushed his hips back onto the pounding man behind him. Charlie looked into the mirror and felt a pang of fire shoot through him and land hot and hard between his legs as he watched Jack thrusting into him. Their eyes met and Charlie saw nothing but utter and complete passion and need in Jack's beautiful green eyes. Charlie felt Jack speed up his thrusts as their passion increased. Charlie was still super-sensitive from their previous encounter in the shower and he felt the heat beginning to building in the pit of his stomach. He gasped harshly and whimpered with unbearable need as Jack pounded his erection deeply inside him. The heat mounted and mounted and Charlie screamed and arched his back, allowing Jack to pull deeper inside him. Charlie collapsed on the counter, gasping. Jack gave three more powerful thrusts before he, too, came and spilled his hot seed inside Charlie. After Jack pulled out of him, Charlie turned and fell into Jack's arms. They stood there for what seemed like forever, just holding one another, neither of them willing to let go. Charlie sighed nd closed his eyes, resting his head lightly on Jack's firm chest. Jack gently stroked Charlie's back and just held him in his arms......he wished this beautiful moment would never end.

A/N: Well what do you think? I owe all the credit for the inspiration for this chapter to Megs-3. I used chapter three from her story 'What If' as a guide-line for this chapter. Thank you, Megs-3!!!!!!!


	3. Night of Ecstasy

Just in case you didn't notice, I changed the interior of the bathroom in the Hatch just a little bit. Just wanted to point that out.

Chapter 3: Night of Ecstasy

After Jack and Charlie's intense encounters in the bathroom, they continued with their four-hour shift. Charlie listened to some music on the record player to pass the time and Jack mostly sat in the computer room and punched in the numbers every hour-and-a-half. After their shift was over, they went back to the beach and continued on with their as if nothing had happened. During the activities of the day, they stole glaces at each other and when they had a spare moment, they would hide in either Jack or Charlie's tent and steal a kiss from one another. Charlie was so happy he and Jack were together; he just felt so happy with him and Jack made him feel special. He never thought he could meet a man like Jack; he just thought he would have to go on through life living a lie. As the day quickly turned into night, Charlie and Jack traveled to the Hatch once again for their shift. They, as always, entered through the back door and walked into the computer room. They saw John sitting at the computer table, looking rather bored as he played a game of tic-tac-toe with himself.

"You two are here kinda early." John said, looking up.

"Well, it's kinda hard to keep track of time on this island." Charlie said.

"Um, John, I was wondering.....would it be all right if Charlie and me took te night shift for the whole night?" Jack asked, trying not to give them away.

John looked at Jack, then at Charlie, then back at Jack. He couldn't think of any reason why two people would want to spend all night down here with the annoying 'clock' going off every hour-and-a-half, but he supposed they had a good reason.

"Yeah, I guess so." John said as the computer began to beep.

He looked up at the 'clock' and saw that there were three minutes left. He typed in the numbers and stood up, picking his backpack up off the floor as he did.

"Well, I guess I'll see you two in the morning." he said before walking out of the room.

They waited for the loud clunk of the heavy steel door before they said anything. The loud clunk echoed through the Hatch and they turned to one another.

"Why did you ask if we could stay down here all night?" Charlie asked.

"I have a special something planned." Jack said, raising an eyebrow.

Charlie smiled and winked at Jack.

"Go wait over by the bunk beds; I'll be there in just a second." Jack said.

Charlie nodded and did as he was told. He had a pretty good idea of what Jack had in mind, so he took his shirt off on the way over to the bunk beds. Jack took his backpack off and took something out of the side pocket and placed it in the pocket of his jeans. Jack stepped out of the computer room and crossed the large room in long, manly strides over to where Charlie stood in front of the bunk beds. There he stood in all his gorgeous masculinity. His bare torso just seemed to glow in the dim light of the room. His blue eyes shone with passion and Jack could tell that his beautiful body ached for sweet release. Jack wrapped his arms around Charlie's waist and pulled him close to him. He captured Charlie's lips in a warm, passionate kiss. Charlie slipped his tongue inside Jack's mouth, moaning at his warmth and softness. Jack slowly slid his hands up Charlie's smooth back, making Charlie shiver with delight. Charlie slowly reached up and tenderly wrapped his arms around Jack's neck. Jack slowly slid his hands down the long expanse of Charlie's back to gently cup his wonderful hips. Charlie gasped and kissed Jack hungrily. Jack raised a harsher gasp from Charlie when he slid his hands inside his pants, gently kneading his soft hips. They both drew away from the kiss in need of air.

"Are you ready for a night of amazing passion?" Jack asked.

"Oh, yes." Charlie moaned, his imagination racing with erotic images of him and Jack doing all sorts of things.

Jack knelt down in front of Charlie and very slowly slid his jeans down his firm legs. Slowly, Charlie's thick, sumptuous manhood was revealed, making Jack's own manhood tingle. Jack moved Charlie's jeans down to his ankles and Charlie stepped out of them, allowing Jack to toss them aside. Jack turned back to Charlie, addressing the part of his body that commanded the most attention at the moment. He gently gripped Charlie's hips and slowly licked a straight line up his manhood, starting down at the head and traveling up to the base. Charlie gasped and leaned on the edge of the top bunk, feeling his legs weaken beneath him. He moaned and threw his head back as Jack continued his ministrations. He gave a sharp intake of breath as he felt himself harden. He heard Jack wince and he looked down to see what was wrong.

"Are you all right?" Charlie asked.

"You poked me in the eye." Jack said, rubbing his right eye.

Charlie laughed and sunk down to sit on the soft mattress of the bottom bunk. He leaned over and softly kissed Jack on the lips. He placed his hands on Jack's shoulders and gently pulled him over to lay on top of him, kissing him the whole time. Charlie moaned as Jack settled on top of him. Jack gasped and groaned as he felt Charlie reach between them and gently massage him between his legs.

"Oh, you like that?" Charlie asked, delighted that he found something else to turn Jack on.

Jack maneuvered around so they lay more comfortably on the bed. Jack groaned and his body stiffened when Charlie slipped his hand inside his pants and rubbed it up and down his manhood.

"Oh, God, Charlie!" Jack groaned, hardening in Charlie's hand.

Charlie smiled and placed soft kisses on Jack's neck.

"Charlie, I have a surprise for you." Jack said.

"Oh?" Charlie asked, raising an eyebrow.

Jack reached into his pocket and took put a small bottle of personal lubricant.

"Where did you get that?" Charlie asked, pleasantly surprised.

"I stole it from Sawyer's stash." Jack answered.

Charlie's heart fluttered; he didn't know why, but he felt kind of special to have the 'luxury' of having real lubricant, not having to be slick from the shower water or Jack spitting in his hand. Jack leaned up on his knees and, after some maneuvering, he wriggled out of his jeans. Charlie moaned when he saw Jack's hard, throbbing shaft before him and he spread his legs wide, ready to receive him. Jack opened the bottle of lubricant and got some on his hand. He slowly massaged it over his shaft. He leaned down over Charlie and was about to push inside him when Charlie stopped him.

"Wait." Charlie said, "Not like this."

Charlie flipped Jack over so he lay on his back and he straddle his hips.

"Like this." Charlie said, placing his hands on Jack's firm chest.

Jack's heart raced as his excitement grew. He was usually the one who took the dominant position, but he found this new position to be exciting and sexy. Charlie leaned up on his knees and positioned himself over Jack's shaft. Charlie smiled seductively and slowly slid down onto Jack's waiting shaft. Jack gripped Charlie's hips, guiding him down. Charlie let out a long moan as he pushed his hips down to meet Jack's, pushing Jack's shaft completely inside him. One of the things Charlie loved about Jack was that he was just the right size for him. He was big, but not too big; about seven inches. Charlie found it so arousing to feel that Jack's shaft was perfectly shaped to fit the warm, gentle contours of his insides. The lubricant provided the necessary glide and it created a gentle warming sensation that was very stimulating. Both Charlie and jack moaned loudly when Charlie began to rock his hips, Jack's shaft moving gently inside him.

"Oh, Jack!" Charlie gasped, rocking his hips in a back-and-forth and up-and-down motion.

Jack wrapped his large hands around the sides of Charlie's hips, slowly sliding them down his firm thighs. He moved one hand around in front and gripped Charlie's aching shaft in his hand. Charlie gasped and almost lost his composure, but he kept up his steady thrusting as Jack pumped his hand around his shaft. Charlie groaned and threw his head back in ecstasy. Jack's gentle hand around his thick shaft combined with the amazing sensations he was getting between his legs was enough to make anyone loose their mind. Jack reached up with both hands an placed them on either side of Charlie's neck, slowly sliding them downward over his chest and his wonderful, muscled abdomen. Charlie's breath came in rapid, feverish gasps as his thrusting increased.

"Ch-Charlie!" Jack gasped, gripping Charlie's hips tightly and pulling him down onto his erection even further.

Charlie whimpered with passion as Jack's shaft pushed deeper inside his warm insides.

"Oh, Jack! Oh!" Charlie gasped, "Jack, please......oh, God......please."

Charlie was so aroused now that his shaft was so hard that it hurt and he absolutely loved it. The passion and the need blazed through his body like a wildfire and he was impaling himself on Jack's shaft in his deep, longing need. Jack arched his back and groaned, gripping the sheets beneath them until his knuckles turned white. He cried out when Charlie thrust down hard and fast with his hips. They knew it was time; time to let their passion take over. From then on, a deep lingering need stayed with them, slowly building up to their sweet, hot release. Charlie felt himself almost unable to breathe as the orgasm tore through his aching body, sending him over the edge. He screamed and impaled himself onto Jack's shaft. His muscles clenched so tightly around him that he thought he might faint from the passion. Jack screamed and arched his back, the feeling of Charlie's muscles clenching around him sending him over the edge. Charlie gave one more powerful thrust and both he and Jack released at the same time. Jack exploding deep inside him, Charlie releasing his white hot seed between them. Charlie collapsed on top of Jack, gasping to get his breath. Once Charlie found an ounce of strength, he weakly rolled off Jack to lay between him and the wall. Jack turned over to face Charlie and genty took him into his arms. Jack gently stroked Charlie's brown hair and placed a soft kiss to his forehead.

"Oh, Charlie, you're so amazing." Jack whispered.

Charlie smiled, "So are you."

"Are we really going to make love all night?" Charlie asked in wonder.

"Only if you want to." Jack answered.

"Yes. Yes, I want to. God, how I want to." Charlie moaned, starting to gete excited.

"Good." Jack said, kissing his forehead, "We have this whole place to ourselves all night long. The door is locked and no one can get in. We can make love all night long wherever we want as long as we want.....in any position we want. You can scream all you want and there's no one else down here to hear us."

Charlie moaned as Jack elaborated on there 'plans' for the night. He slammed his lips against Jack's, the passion and excitement burning inside him once more. Just as Jack had said, he and Charlie made love all night long. They lost count of how many times they made each other come; all they knew was that it was the most amazing, passion-filled night of their lives. Jack was glad that he and Charlie were young and very much able to satisfy one another to such an extent that they were both screaming each other's name to the stars. They made amazing love nearly everywhere in the Hatch: on the couch in the living area, on the floor, against the wall, in the fat armchair in the computer room and many other places. They used almost every conceivable position and it was more amazing than anything in the world. They even made love once with Charlie bent over the ping-pong table! They were interrupted every hour-and-a-half by the annoying beeping of the clock in the computer room, but they managed. Sometime in the early morning hours, Charlie and Jack's screams of intense pleasure echoes through the Hatch once again. Jack had Charlie pinned against the wall and Charlie had his legs wrapped around Jack's waist as he gave one final, powerful thrust and emptied himself inside him. Charlie's body went limp and he panted and gasped for air as Jack withdrew from him. Both their bodies were soaked in sweat and their hair was no different. Charlie's hair stuck to his forehead and neck in clumps.

"J-Jack......" Charlie gasped, "I th-thik I need to lay down. I'm s-so tired."

Jack nodded and scooped Charlie into his strong arms and carried him over to the bunk beds. He gently lay him down on the bottom bunk.

"Jack, I love you." Charlie whispered as Jack sat down on the edge of the bed.

Jack smiled and pulled a blanket over Charlie's naked body.

"I love you, too." Jack whispered, leaning down and lightly kissing Charlie on the lips, "Just rest, now."

Charlie nodded and turned over, curling up in a ball and drawing the blanket around him. He was asleep in minutes, exhausted from his and Jack's intense night of passion and ecstasy. Jack smiled as he watched Charlie sleep; he had finally found the love of his life.

A/N: Well, there it is. I really hope you like it. I owe credit for the inspirstion for this chapter to solsethegreat and his story 'Creamy Peanut Butter'(which is a GREAT story, by the way!)


	4. Betrayal

HI, I'm back! Thanks everyone for the good reviews! I'm glad someone likes this story. As I said earlier, if anyone had any ideas, please tell me and I'll think about putting them in the story. Really hope you like this chapter!

Chapter 4: Betrayal

It was around 8:30 that morning when Jack once again punched in the numbers into the computer. After the clock flipped back to 108, Jack stood up and walked into the living area. He quietly walked over to the bunk beds and he leaned on the top bunk at he watched Charlie sleep. Sometime during the night, Charlie had kicked his blanket almost all the way off him and his beautiful naked body was exposed to Jack. The layer of sweat had since dried and his hair looked a little drier. He breathed at a slow, steady pace, his lips parted slightly. His legs were spread slightly and they lay limply to the sides. Steamy memories of the previous night raced through Jack's mind when he saw a little of the white fluid at the tip of Charlie's shaft and a little between his legs. Jack slowly climbed into bed with Charlie, trying not to disturb him. He lay down next to him and layed and arm across his chest, pulling him close. Charlie moaned softly and peeped his eyes open. He smiled when he saw Jack laying next to him.

"Morning." Charlie said.

"Morning, baby." Jack whispered, kissing him lightly on the lips.

Jack lightly brushed a hand against Charlie's cheek and gently stroked his hair. They just lay there for a while, lovingly wrapped in each other's arms before Jack spoke again.

"Hey, Charlie." he began, "You wanna go on a picnic today?"

"A picnic?" Charlie asked to make sure he was hearing Jack right.

"Sure. I know this place in the jungle just past the caves that is just perfect for a picnic. What-da-ya say?"

"All right." Charlie agreed.

"The next shift will be arriving soon; you better get dressed." Jack pointed out.

Jack and Charlie both sat up and Charlie stretched his tight muscles, groaning as he did. He swung his legs over the edge of the bed and reached for his jeans, which lay on the floor. He slipped them on and found his T-shirt a few feet away and put it on. He got dressed just in time; just seconds after he put his T-shirt on, they heard the heavy metal door open and close as someone entered. Within seconds, John and Eko appeared in the doorway of the computer room. After a kind greeting to John and Eko, Jack and Charlie exited the Hatch and traveled back to the beach.

"You can go freshen up and I'll get things ready and you can meet me in the jungle in about ten minutes." Jack whispered to Charlie as they neared the beach.

Charlie nodded and hastily made his way to his tent. He poured some water over a rag, soaking it and he cleaned his face. Once that was done, he put on a clean Led Zepplin T-shirt. He made sure his hair was straight and he stepped out of his tent. He saw Jack nowhere and he guessed he had already left to get things set up. Charlie knew exactly where Jack was going, so he set off into the jungle, his expectations high. As he walked further into the jungle he felt the strangest feeling that someone was watching him. He figured it was just his imagination and he continued on. He felt an eerie chill run up his spine as he looked back and no loner saw the beach through the trees. He heard a rustle in the bushes and he whipped his head around, his heart starting to pound inside his chest.

"Wh-who's there?" he asked.

Nothing. He took a deep breath and took a step forward. He suddenly felt a large hand clamp down over his mouth. He tried to scream, but the hand over his mouth prevented that.

"Scream and I'll kill you." a deep, frightening voice whispered into his ear.

Fear rushed through Charlie and he whimpered as the man drug him a few feet away to a large patch of brush. Charlie struggled to free himself, but the man was stronger than him and he easily subdued him. The man roughly threw Charlie on the ground, making Charlie moan in pain. From their position here in the brush, they were very well concealed from anyone that walked by on the trail just feet away.

"Wh-what do you want?" Charlie whimpered.

"Quiet!" the man commanded, kicking Charlie in the face.

Charlie cried out in pain and another kick came. Only this one was to his chest and it knocked the breath out of him. The last thing Charlie remembered was the pain and the man bending over him......

Jack sat on a blanket in the middle of the beautiful clearing back from the caves. He had been sitting there for more than an hour waiting for Charlie. He was beginning to get worried; where could Charlie be? What was taking him so long? Jack was about to get up and go look for Charlie when he heard a twig snap behind some brush at the edge of the clearing. Charlie stumbled blindly into the clearing and Jack was stunned. Charlie's face was very battered and his body was beaten. Dark bruises surrounded both his eyes and a large gash on the left side of his forehead oozed a large amount of blood across his face and into his eyes. His lower lip was split and it dripped blood from Charlie's chin to his T-shirt and onto the ground. His red T-shirt was torn in several places and dirty and it exposed more cuts and dark bruises. His jeans were dirty and his hair was mussed. Jack could tell that Charlie had been crying by the way he weakly sniffled every few seconds. Charlie's eyes drooped as if he were very sleepy. He stumbled forward, his legs weak. Jack immediately jumped up and ran over to Charlie, who looked as if he might fall at any moment.

"Charlie!" Jack gasped in concern, "What happened?"

"Jack....." Charlie mumbled weakly, "I'm--I'm sorry I'm late."

Charlie collapsed, but Jack quickly caught him before he hit the ground. Jack knelt on the ground and gently cradled Charlie's limp form in his arms.

"Charlie? Charlie, can you hear me?" Jack cried, feeling tears coming to his eyes.

Charlie made no movement; he just remained limp in Jack's arms, his breathing dangerously shallow. Jack forgot all about their picnic and he gently gathered Charlie into his arms and darted off into the jungle, heading for the beach. Jack reached the beach in less than half the time it usually took him and he ran straight to the infirmary tent, trying to avoid the prying stares of the other survivors. He entered the tent and gently lay Charlie down on the soft pallet made of airplane seat cushions. He rifled through the box at the head of the pallet and found some clean cloths and a bottle of water. He poured some of the water on one of the cloths, soaking it. He gently pressed it to the bleeding wound on Charlie's forehead.

"Come on, Charlie. Stay with me. Stay with me." Jack prayed while trying o staunch the flow of blood, "Oh, what could have happened to you?"

While Jack held the wet cloth to Charlie's head wound, he took the opportunity to do a quick visual survey of his injuries. Jack saw dark bruises around Charlie's wrists and a dark, almost black, bruise around his throat. Jack shuddered at the thought of anyone doing such cruel things to Charlie. Charlie's lips were also bruised. Jack slowly removed the cloth from Charlie's head, the bleeding mostly subsided. He rinsed out the cloth so it was clean again and tenderly wiped the blood from around the wound and off Charlie's face. Jack took the corner of the cloth and gently wiped the blood away that had caked up around Charlie's slightly-swollen eyes. He then wiped the blood away from Charlie's split lip and cleaned it off his chin and neck. Once all the blood was cleaned away from Charlie's face, Jack carefully removed his torn, dirty T-shirt. Jack could not help but gasp slightly the sight before him. Charlie's once perfect torso was now covered in dark bruises. Jack closed his eyes briefly, unable to bear the sight of his Charlie in such a broken condition. Jack gently felt along Charlie's chest, feeling for any broken ribs. He felt two ribs shift beneath his hands; he hoped and prayed that one of them had not punctured a lung. He then moved his hands lower and gently felt al over Charlie's abdomen. Everything felt rather normal and he felt no lumps or rigid spots. Although there was no internal bleeding, Jack was almost certain that Charlie's internal organs were no doubt bruised from his terrible beating.

"Oh, Charlie......" Jack whispered, "Who could have done this to you?"

Jack stayed by Charlie's side for what seemed like forever, each minute seemingly stretching on for an eternity. Jack held Charlie's hand in his, lightly stroking the top of it with his thumb. He held Charlie's hand because he did not want Charlie to be afraid. For what seemed like forever, Jack could not bring himself to tear his eyes away from the shallow rise and fall of Charlie's chest. It seemed like if he looked away for a mere second, he would look back and his chest would no longer be moving. Charlie's face was pale and the fresh, red wounds stood out starkly as did the dark bruises. Jack continuously begged and pleaded for Charlie to wake up, just to give him a sign that he could hear him. Jack gently stroked Charlie's dirtied hair back from his face; it had now been almost three hours since Jack had brought Charlie back to the beach and he had not made one sound or moved a muscle.

"Come on, Charlie." Jack said, taking Charlie's limp hand in his, "Wake up. Please come back to me. I love you so much."

Much to Jack's surprise, Charlie moaned softly and shifted his head.

"Charlie?" Jack asked hopefully.

Charlie weakly peeped his eyes open, instantly being hit by a wave of pain. His body tensed and he moaned, but Jack gently soothed him, whispering soft words of reassurance. Jack gently brushed a few stray hairs away from Charlie's eyes.

"How do you feel?" Jack asked.

Charlie only moaned and shook his head.

"Do you remember what happened?" Jack asked.

"I was, um.....w-walking through the jungle, following the trail to the caves and I heard something in the bushes. Before I could do anything, I felt a hand clamp down over my mouth. I tried to call out for you.....but I c-couldn't." Charlie's voice stuttered as he began to fight back tears, "Th-the man whispered in my ear. He said that if I screamed he would k-kill me. He dragged me into the bushes. I t-tried to get away, but he kicked me in the face. He kept beating me and.....he t-turned me over on my stomach.....and he pulled my pants down....and he r-raped me."

Jack's heart suddenly froze and his throat tightened as his mouth went dry.

"Wh-what?" Jack asked when he found his voice.

"Jack.....h-help me." Charlie cried, unable to hold back the tears anymore.

Jack gently took Charlie into his arms, trying to sooth his cries. Jack flet a volley of emotions hit him all at once: rage, sorrow, confusion, and an extreme sense of protection. How could someone be so cruel and heartless as to do something like this to Charlie? Charlie had done nothing to deserve this. He had just got his life turned around and all that had been suddenly snatched away in a moment of cruelty. Charlie's skinny body was racked with sobs and his breath hitched as salty tears poured forth. Jack gently cradled Charlie's battered body in his arms and he softly stroked his hair.

"Shhh, shhh. It's all right. You're safe now. No one's ever gonna hurt you again." Jack cooed.

"I-It hurt, Jack. It hurt so much." Charlie cried.

"I know." Jack whispered, cruel images of Charlie being beaten and defiled in the dirt flashing through his mind.

Jack gent;y drew Charlie away and cupped Charlie's battered face in his hands. He tenderly wiped Charlie's tears away with his thumbs.

"Charlie," Jack said, looking directly into Charlie's broken eyes, "Who did this to you?"

Charlie sniffled, "I-I don't know. But his voice sounded so familiar. While he was.....you know.....he asked me 'Is tis how you like it?' "

Charlie closed his eyes as more tears fell. Jack gently pulled Charlie back into his arms, cradling him gently.

A/N: Oooo, wonder who did it? I won't tell you because it will give away most of the rest of the story; you'll just have to read on and find out. *giggles evilly* hehehe.....


	5. Awakening

Sorry I left such a cliffy at the end of the previous chapter.

Chapter 5: Awakening

After Charlie's cries had subsided, Jack helped him into a clean T-shirt so he would not feel so exposed. Jack slowly eased Charlie back down onto the pallet, being careful of his bruises. Charlie winced and moaned loudly as his broken ribs shifted.

"Oh, I'm sorry, Charlie." Jack said, feeling guilty for causing him more pain.

Charlie took a shaky breath and his body tensed in pain. He slowly exhaled, his body relaxing slightly.

"Does it hurt to breathe?" Jack asked.

Charlie nodded.

"Are you thirsty?" Jack asked.

Charlie nodded again. Jack reached for the bottle of water and uncapped it. He gently lifted Charlie's head in his hand and placed the rim of the bottle at his bruised lips. He slowly tilted the bottle up, giving Charlie time to swallow. The cool water went down slowly and soothed Charlie's dry throat. Charlie coughed and choked on the last little bit, a small stream of water running down his chin. Jack drew the bottle away and set it aside. He wiped the water away from Charlie's chin and gently layed his head back down.

"Charlie," Jack said, "I know you've just been through a very traumatic experience, but I need to examine you inside to make sure you're not hurt."

Charlie shuddered as he thought about it.

"It's okay. If it hurts too much or if you start to feel uncomfortable, we can stop. You just say the word and we'll stop." Jack explained.

Charlie nodded and took a slow breath to calm himself. Jack took a blanket out of the box at the head of the pallet and moved down to Charlie's feet. He gently removed Charlie's dirty jeans and set them aside. He unfolded the blanket and layed it across Charlie's waist to give him some sense of dignity.

"Okay, Charlie, you're doing very well." Jack said, "Now, I need you to spread your legs for me, okay?"

Charlie took a deep breath and slowly spread his legs apart. He gripped the blanket covering the pallet beneath him as the fear slowly creeped upon him.

"It's all right. Just relax." Jack said.

Jack looked back down and saw that there was some bruising around Charlie's entrance and bruises in the shape of hand-prints on his thighs. He very gently slid a finger inside Charlie. Charlie winced and closed his eyes, trying to keep a flashback of his trauma from entering his mind.

"You all right?" Jack asked.

Charlie nodded weakly. Jack proceeded to carefully feel around inside Charlie with his finger. Charlie jumped and cried out weakly when he came to a certain spot.

"P-please.....stop. It hurts." Charlie cried.

Jack quickly withdrew his finger and coaxed Charlie's legs back together. He moved back up to sit at Charlie's side.

"Charlie, you have a small tear inside you. It will take a while to heal, but there isn't anything I can do for it." Jack explained.

Charlie nodded and wiped the tears from his eyes.

"You were very brave, Charlie. Most people wouldn't have been able to do that." Jack encouraged.

Charlie half-heartedly smiled.

"Are you hungry?" Jack asked.

"A little." Charlie whispered.

"How does a nice fruit salad sound?" Jack asked.

Charlie nodded, smiling slightly.

"I'll be right back." Jack said, standing up.

He stepped out of the tent and walked over to the kitchen. He looked under the table made of bamboo and found the box in which they kept their fruit. He got out a banana, a passion fruit, a papaya, and some pineapple. He peeled and cut up all the fruit into a bowl, mixing it up a little. He tossed the peelings away into the edge of the jungle and picked up the bowl of colorful fruit and walked back to the infirmary tent. He entered the tent saw Charlie laying on his side with the blanket spread out over him and his legs were drawn up to his chest. He looked up when he heard Jack enter the tent and he attempted to sit up. He winced from the pain in his ribs, but he managed to sit up. Jack handed Charlie the bowl and sat down beside him. Charlie picked up a piece of pineapple and ate it slowly. He loved the sweet taste of pineapple on a warm day.

"Is there anything you want to talk about?" Jack asked as Charlie slowly ate each piece of his fruit salad.

Charlie closed his bruised eyes and sniffled as he swallowed a small bite of banana.

"A-Am I ever gonna be okay again?" Charlie asked, "I'm so scared."

"It's gonna take time, Charlie.....alot of time, but you will get through this. And I'll be there for you every step of the way." Jack said.

"I'm so afraid, Jack. I don't know if I can do this." Charlie said.

"You can, Charlie. I know you can. I know it may seem like such a big thing to conquer, but we can take it one baby step at a time." Jack said, "If you ever want to talk about anything or if you need anything, I'm here for you."

Charlie nodded.

"I just....I don't even know where to begin. I don't know where to start picking up the pieces." Charlie said, "I'm afraid that if I take one step outside the tent, I'll see him.....and he'll do it again."

"Well, we can start there. Our first step can be going outside. That's a great place to start." Jack said.

"Since when are you such an expert on rape victims?" Charlie asked.

"I took this course in med school about the healing process for rape victims." Jack answered.

"Why does a spinal surgeon need to know about that?" Charlie asked.

"I just thought it sounded interesting at the time." Jack answered, "I guess now it's coming in handy."

After Charlie finished off his fruit salad, he set the bowl aside.

"You ready to take the first step on the road of healing?" Jack asked.

Charlie looked at him with fearful eyes; he didn't know if he was able or ready to do this.

"I don't think I can." Charlie whispered.

"I'll be right here beside you. I promise. If you're ever going to heal, you have to start somewhere." Jack said.

Charlie took a deep breath, readying himself.

"All right." he said quietly, "I think I'm ready."

Jack gently helped Charlie back into his jeans and he wrapped an arm around Charlie's shoulders and helped him to stand. Charlie gasped in pain at his broken ribs.

"You all right?" Jack asked, supporting Charlie as he leaned on him and gasped.

Charlie nodded and shifted his weight to his own two feet. He took a deep breath, here it goes. They walked slowly forward and Jack moved the tent flap aside. The bright sunlight streamed in and Charlie froze in fear.

"I can't do this." Charlie said, taking a step back.

"Yes, you can. I know you can do it." Jack said, trying to encourage Charlie.

Charlie slowly lifted his foot and stepped outside the tent. His breath quickened slightly as his fear increased.

"It's all right. You're doing so good." Jack whispered encouragingly.

"Wh-why is everyone staring at me?" Charlie asked, looking around.

"Don't pay any attention to them. It's all right." Jack said.

"Can we go somewhere so no one will stare at me?" Charlie asked, feeling a little edgy.

"Come with me." Jack said.

Jack lead Charlie slowly down the beach, never taking his arm from around Charlie's shoulders. Charlie felt that if Jack let him go, he would just collapse. They walked down the beach to round the first bend in the beach so they were out of sight of the other survivors.

"I-I think I need to stop." Charlie said, his legs feeling weak.

They stopped and Jack helped Charlie sit down on the warm sand close to the water. Jack took a clean rag out of his pocket and let the waves wash over it once, soaking it. He squeezed the excess water out of the rag and turned to Charlie. He slightly tilted his head back and gently pressed the rag to the dark bruises around his throat. Charlie winced, but the cool rag slightly soothed the lingering burn from the bruises.

"How's your breathing?" Jack asked.

"It hurts." Charlie answered.

"Well, it's going to for a while." Jack said.

As Jack gently tended to Charlie's neck he noticed a tear slowly slide down his cheek.

"What's wrong?" Jack asked, removing the rag.

"I just....I can't believe this happened. It just doesn't seem real. I'm hoping that it's all a bad dream and I'll wake up and it'll all go away." Charlie cried, wiping at his tears, "Was it something I did? Is it my fault?"

"No, no, no, Charlie. It's not your fault. It's never anybody's fault that things like this happens." Jack said, "It's not your fault."

"I can't help but think it is." Charlie said, pulling his knees up to his chest and burying his face in them.

"Shhh, shhh." Jack said, scooting over to sit beside Charlie.

He wrapped an arm around Charlie's quivering shoulders, trying to offer some comfort. Jack closed his eyes and rested his chin atop Charlie's head, holding him close. If he ever found who did this to Charlie.....

A/N: Well, there it is. I really hope you like it.


	6. Healing Regret

Hi, I'm so glad you liked the previous chapter!

Chapter 6: Healing Regret

Later on that same day, after a long while of sitting on the beach, Charlie and Jack slowly made their way back to Jack's nice-sized tent, which he and Charlie now shared. Jack pulled the tent flap aside and Charlie stumbled in, nearly loosing his balance.

"Easy, now. Don't try to go too fast." Jack said, steadying Charlie.

Jack gently eased Charlie down to sit on the large pallet on the sandy floor. Jack sat on his knees in front of Charlie.

"Charlie, I'm gonna go tell Sayid what's going on and--" Jack started, but Charlie cut in suddenly.

"NO! You can't tell anyone! No one else can ever know." Charlie begged, a fearful look in his eyes.

"Charlie, calm down. It's okay. I need to tell Sayid what's going on so we can protect you and maybe find out who did this to you." Jack explained.

"But, th-the others....when they find out.....oh, I'm so ashamed!" Charlie said, once again, feeling tears form in his eyes.

"Charlie, there's nothing to be ashamed of; this wasn't your fault." Jack said, holding Charlie's hands in his.

Charlie nodded and looked downward to the floor.

"Now, you just stay in here and try to get some rest. I'll be back as soon as I can. If you need anything, just call for me, okay?" Jack said, giving Charlie a reassuring smile.

Charlie nodded and slowly eased himself down onto the pallet, moaning as his ribs shifted painfully. Jack stood and exited the tent. He scanned the camp and spotted Sayid a little ways away from everyone, sitting on a log and working on splitting coconuts. Jack walked over to him in long strides.

"Sayid, we need to talk." he said once he reached him.

"About what?" Sayid asked, wiping the sweat from his forehead.

Jack sat down in front of Sayid on the sand, moving a coconut out of the way as he did.

"We have a serious problem." Jack began, "There's been an accident."

"Is anyone hurt?" Sayid asked.

"Yes....very much so." Jack said.

"Who?" Sayid asked, intrigued.

"Charlie." Jack answered.

"What happened?" Sayid asked.

"Someone.....raped him." Jack said, in a quieter voice so no one else would hear him.

"Are you serious?" Sayid asked, shocked.

"Yes. We need to find out who did this so Charlie can feel safe again." Jack said.

"You think one of our people did it?" Sayid asked.

"I really don't know. Charlie doesn't even know." Jack answered.

"So, where do you propose we start?" Sayid asked.

"I think we need to ask all the men in the camp where they were and what they were doing between 8:30 and 9:00 this morning." Jack said.

"All right, let's get started." Sayid said, standing up, "In the Republican Guard, we may have tortured prisoners into giving us information, but rape was one thing we did not tolerate."

Jack stood up and followed Sayid over to the kitchen where several people were gathered. They spent the better part of the day 'interviewing' people, asking their whereabouts earlier that morning. Everyone seemed to have a legitimate alibi. Everyone was genuinely curious about what happened, but neither Jack nor Sayid told them exactly what happened; they just told them that there had been an accident. After finishing with talking to Eko, Jack and Sayid walked away to talk.

"It doesn't seem like anyone knows anything." Sayid said, as they walked.

Jack sighed, "I've gotta know who did this to him."

"I know that this is a very serious matter, but you seem more concerned than usual." Sayid said.

"It's nothing." Jack quickly said.

"Oh." Sayid said, "Well, it might not even be one of us that did it.....more than likely, it's one of _them_."

"Maybe you're right.....I just.....God, I don't know what to think." Jack said, obviously disturbed and confused.

"I think you should go and rest for a while; you're probably just tired." Sayid suggested.

"How can I rest when there is a rapist out there?" Jack asked.

"Jack, calm down. We will find who did this. It may take some time, but we will find this monster." Sayid said.

Jack sighed and nodded.

"I gotta go check on Charlie." he said, walking off.

Jack walked over to his tent and quietly stepped inside. He saw Charlie laying on the pallet, curled up in a ball, asleep. He silently stepped over and sat down beside Charlie and tenderly stroked his brown hair away from his face.

"I love you, Charlie." Jack whispered, "I promise we're gonna find who did this to you. If it's the last thing I ever do, I promise I'll find who hurt you."

Charlie moaned and opened his eyes slightly. He gave a weak smile when he saw Jack.

"Jack," he said, quietly, "Will you lay down with me?"

"Sure." Jack said, taking his shoes off.

Charlie scooted over to give Jack room to lay down. Jack layed down on the pallet beside Charlie and tenderly took him into his arms. Charlie's tense muscles relaxed once he was in Jack's arms and he layed his head on Jack's chest, content to hear his heartbeat. Jack rested his chin on Charlie's head and gently rubbed his back. Charlie breathed shallowly in an attempt to lessen the pain from his ribs.

"Jack, c-can I talk to you about something?" Charlie asked.

"Of course. Anything." Jack said.

"There's, um.....s-something I didn't tell you." Charlie said.

"What?" Jack asked, looking into Charlie's scared eyes.

"The man who hurt me.....he....." Charlie began, but was cut off by tears.

"What did he do? What else did he do to you?" Jack asked, dreading the answer.

"He.....raped me.....t-twice." Charlie said, tears running down his face.

"_Twice_?" Jack asked, shocked.

Charlie nodded his head and buried his face in Jack's chest.

"Shh, shh." Jack said, holding Charlie gently.

This new bit of information only fed the flame of determination and the sense of protection inside Jack. He still could not wrap his mind around the fact that someone would want to do this to Charlie.

"I just want all this to stop!" Charlie cried.

"It's gonna be okay. Everything's gonna be all right. We're gonna get through this. I promise." Jack said.

Suddenly, Charlie went into a coughing fit from his broken ribs. The hacking coughs tore through his weakened body and he shook from fear and pain. He barely had time to draw in a pitiful breath in between coughs. A pang of fear shot through Jack when he saw Charlie's lips take on a dangerous blue tinge. He quickly kicked into doctor-mode and he sat up. He maneuvered around behind Charlie and gently sat him up, leaning him against his chest and sitting him between his legs.

"Easy, Charlie, easy." Jack whispered into Charlie's ear, "Just breathe. Breathe."

Tears came to Charlie's eyes as the searing pain in his chest intensified with every cough. He wheezed and weakly gripped the leg of Jack's jeans.

"Breathe for me, okay. Just take it easy and breathe." Jack whispered, placing a hand to Charlie's heaving chest.

Charlie took in a deep breathe and cried out in pain.

"I know it hurts. Be strong, baby. It'll pass.....it'll pass." Jack said, "Breathe. Breathe."

Charlie heaved another breath in and he felt his body weaken. He leaned his head back against Jack's shoulder and let his body just go limp.

"H-help me.....please." Charlie weakly whispered, "It hurts."

"It's all right. You're going to be okay." Jack said.

They stayed like that for several more minutes, neither of them saying a word. The only sounds that filled the tent were Charlie's shallow gasps and occasional moans of pain. The burning fire in his chest slowly ebbed away and left Charlie weaker than ever. He barely felt strength enough in him to keep his eyes open.

"J-Jack....." Charlie gasped, "W-will you stay with me?"

"Of course I will. As long as you want me to." Jack said, holding Charlie's limp body in his strong arms.

Charlie took a deep breath and exhaled slowly through his mouth.

"W-will you lay down with me?" he asked.

Jack gently leaned Charlie up and moved from behind him and slowly layed him back down. He crawled over and layed down next to him, pulling his weak body close to his chest.

"I love you, Charlie." Jack whispered, "I'll always love you."

Charlie weakly smiled.

"I love you, too." he said, barely audible.

A new wave of weakness washed over Charlie and he let his eyes drift closed. He felt himself leaving the world of consciousness and he slowly drifted off into a deep sleep. Jack placed a light kiss to Charlie's forehead as he drifted off. He lay there for the longest time, not moving a muscle and listening to Charlie's shallow breathing. He gently held Charlie close, never wanting to let him go. He felt as if he let Charlie go for even one second, he would just disappear and never return. Jack had discovered early on that he was different from the other teenage boys around him. When he pleasured himself, he didn't think of women; he would close his eyes and imagine that it was a handsome man that was touching him in the most private of places. And the strange thing about it was that the man he always imagined touching him looked exactly like Charlie. The first day they had crashed here, the first time he saw Charlie through the smoke and debris, h thought he was in a dream. Everything around him seemed to disappear and things seemed to go in slow motion. He never in his wildest dreams thought that he could meet someone as wonderful and beautiful as Charlie. He kept waiting for him to disappear for fear that this really was a dream and he dreaded to wake from it. When he was with Charlie, he was in absolute bliss and he knew the meaning of true love. But now, all that was threatened to be snatched away all because some monster had taken Charlie and beat him mercilessly and hurt him almost beyond healing. Jack knew that Charlie may never heal from this. He knew that Charlie may never be the same. If Charlie was nver able to heal, he didn't know what he would do. His heart would be broken beyond repair. But he did know that no matter what happened, he would never in a million years leave Charlie to face this alone. He was determined to stand by his side through everything and offer him a shoulder when he needed it. The love he felt for Charlie, no woman could ever compare to. In Jack's eyes, no woman could ever compare to Charlie's beauty and love. In Jack's eyes, Charlie was perfect.......

A/N: Well, there it is. So sorry it took so long to update. Really Hope You Like It!!!!!!!


	7. Him

Thank for the good reviews, me faithful reviewees!! I really think you're gong to like this chapter! *giggles evilly*.

Chapter 7: Him

Charlie slowly awoke to the sounds of the waves crashing against the shore outside and the twittering of the seagulls as they flew overhead. He moaned and peeped his eyes open and the first thing he saw was Jack sitting beside the pallet on which he lay. Jack smiled when he saw Charlie open his eyes.

"Hey, you." he said softly, "How are you feeling?"

"A bit better." Charlie said, "My chest still hurts. How long was I asleep?"

"All day and night?" Jack answered.

"What? You mean it's tomorrow already?" Charlie asked in surprise.

"Yeah. You must be a heavy sleeper." Jack said.

Just then, Kate peeped her head inside the door of the tent.

"Jack, lunch is almost ready." she said, "Locke killed a boar this morning and it just got done cooking."

"All right; we'll be out in a minute." Jack said.

Kate nodded and turned and left.

"You hungry?" Jack asked, turning back to Charlie.

Charlie nodded and painfully sat up. Jack wrapped an arm around his shoulders and helped him to stand. They walked out of the tent and made their way over to the kitchen where almost everyone was gathered. Charlie sat down in one of the makeshift chairs they had constructed out of bamboo and propped his elbows on the table, a glum look on his face.

"Hey, cheer up, Chuck." Sawyer said, "The meat's ready."

Sawyer walked over to the table and set a large banana leaf with a chunk of meat and some sliced banana on it in front of Charlie.

"Is this how you like it?" Sawyer asked, referring to the meat.

Charlie's heart skipped a beat and his blood ran cold. He felt his mouth go dry and he looked at Sawyer with wide, frightened eyes.

"Wh-what?" he asked, shaking.

"I said, 'Is this how you like it?'." Sawyer repeated, "You all right?"

"You!" Charlie gasped, standing up and still shaking.

"What's the matter with you?" Sawyer asked.

"Stay away from me!" Charlie cried, turning away and breaking into a run down the beach.

"Hey! Charlie!" Sawyer called after him.

"What did you do?" Jack asked, stepping up to Sawyer with an angry look on his face.

"I didn't do nothin'. He just took off runnin'" Sawyer answered.

Jack sighed loudly and rolled his eyes and he took off after Charlie. He found Charlie several hundred feet down the beach, huddled under some brush in the edge of the jungle. Charlie was shaking and tears streamed down his face.

"Charlie!" Jack cried out, running over to him.

Jack knelt down in front of Charlie and placed a hand to his shaking shoulder.

"What's wrong? Why did you just take off like that?" Jack asked.

"I-It's h-him." Charlie said.

"Who? What are you talking about?" Jack asked, confused.

"It's him! Sawyer! He's the one who raped me!" Charlie cried.

Anger and confusion flared inside Jack and he placed both hands on either of Charlie's shoulders.

"Charlie, are you absolutely sure?" he asked intently.

Charlie nodded and whimpered, "I would know that voice anywhere."

Jack ground his teeth together in rage, "Come on."

He helped Charlie to stand and they walked back down the beach to the camp. Jack saw Sawyer sitting in front of his tent, eating his boar with a smug grin on his face. The anger flared inside Jack once more and he felt a surge of adrenalin rush through his body.

"Why'd you do it?" he asked once he was standing in front of Sawyer.

"Do what?" Sawyer asked, setting his 'plate' of boar aside.

Jack could not contain his rage any longer. He grabbed Sawyer and threw him to the ground. Jack crawled on top of him and began throwing hard punches to his face or anywhere he could reach. Sawyer struggled ferociously and flipped Jack over, returning the punches.

"Jack!" Charlie cried out as he ran forward, "Get off him!"

Charlie grabbed ahold of Sawyer and tried to pry him away from Jack, but Sawyer only turned and delivered a punch to Charlie's injured ribs. Charlie cried out and the breath was knocked out of him. He collapsed to his knees, gasping and grimacing. Seeing this, Jack flipped Sawyer over once more and the rage boiled hot inside him. Before he could do any serious damage, Sayid and Jin ran forward and managed to pry the two men apart.

"Come on! Bring it!" Sawyer yelled, struggling in Sayid's grip.

"I'll kill him! I'll kill him!" Jack screamed, also struggling as Jin held him steady.

"What is going on here?!" Kate cried, walking in between them.

"You wanna know what's going on? You really wanna know?!" Jack asked, prying himself away from Jin.

Kate just stared at him with a look of astonishment, "What has gotten into you, Jack?"

"It was him!" Jack yelled, pointing at Sawyer, "He raped Charlie!"

"That's bullshit!" Sawyer said, spitting in the sand, "You can't prove anything!"

"Oh, yeah?" Jack asked, walking over to him and staring him directly in his cold eyes, "Look at him."

Sawyer stared at the ground.

"LOOK AT HIM!!" Jack yelled in his face.

Sawyer looked up and saw Charlie still kneeling on the ground. Charlie hadn't bothered to get up; he just knelt there on the ground with a far-off, hurt look on his face.

"How can you look him in the face and deny hurting him?!" Jack asked, "And another thing: I noticed that you were nowhere to be found when Sayid and I were asking everyone if they knew what happened. You probably took that time to go cover your tracks; hide the evidence."

"I didn't do nothin'." Sawyer said, a look of rage on his face.

"Tie him up." Jack said to Sayid, who still held Sawyer securely.

Sayid dragged Sawyer, still struggling, over to a tree close by and tied him securely to it so he could not get away. Charlie hung his head and sniffled as he heard the other survivors muttering amongst themselves. He now felt so alone; like an outcast. Jack wiped the blood from his split lip and walked over to Charlie and knelt down in front of him.

"It's okay, baby." he whispered into his ear, "He's not gonna hurt you anymore."

Charlie leaned his head on Jack's shoulder, crying. Jack wrapped an arm around his back and the other he slipped under his knees, gently lifting him into his arms. Jack turned to face everyone, who stood staring at them.

"What are you staring at?!" he cried.

Jack carried Charlie over to their tent, moving the flap aside with his foot, and stepped inside.

"I-I remember it all now." Charlie whimpered as Jack gently set him down on the pallet, "I c-couldn't remember everything before, but I remember it now."

"Tell me everything that he did to you." Jack said, sitting down beside his beloved.

Charlie proceeded to tell Jack the horrific story of how Sawyer hurt him.

_(FLASHBACK)_

_As he walked further into the jungle he felt the strangest feeling that someone was watching him. He figured it was just his imagination and he continued on. He felt an eerie chill run up his spine as he looked back and no loner saw the beach through the trees. He heard a rustle in the bushes and he whipped his head around, his heart starting to pound inside his chest. _

_"Wh-who's there?" he asked._

_Nothing. He took a deep breath and took a step forward. He suddenly felt a large hand clamp down over his mouth. He tried to scream, but the hand over his mouth prevented that._

_"Scream and I'll kill you." a deep, frightening voice whispered into his ear._

_Fear rushed through Charlie and he whimpered Sawyer drug him a few feet away to a large patch of brush. Charlie struggled to free himself, but Sawyer was stronger than him and he easily subdued him. Sawyer roughly threw Charlie on the ground, making Charlie moan in pain. From their position here in the brush, they were very well concealed from anyone that walked by on the trail just feet away._

_"Wh-what do you want?" Charlie whimpered._

_"Quiet!" Sawyer commanded, kicking Charlie in the face._

_Charlie cried out in pain and another kick came. Only this one was to his chest and it knocked the breath out of him. Charlie gasped for air and placed a hand to his chest. Charlie opened his eyes and saw Sawyer's enraged face hovering over him. Sawyer straddled Charlie and gripped him firmly by the throat. Charlie clawed at his hand, gasping for air, but Sawyer tightened his grip. _

_"I've been watchin' you, boy." Sawyer whispered, "I've seen you and the doc. How you can't get enough of each other." _

_Sawyer released Charlie from his iron-like grip. Charlie gasped wildly to catch a breath and he choked and coughed. Sawyer roughly turned Charlie over onto his stomach. He leaned over him once more and whispered into his ear._

_"You think you can just go around, bangin' everybody on the Island?" he asked, "You're mine. All mine." _

_Charlie whimpered as he felt Sawyer pull his jeans down his legs. Before he could do anything, he felt a searing pain rip through him as Sawyer shoved his hardened arousal into him. Charlie cried out in pain, but was only greeted by a sharp blow to the head. _

_"Didn't I tell you to keep quiet?" Sawyer asked as he began thrusting roughly into Charlie. _

_Charlie whimpered and tears streamed down his bloody cheeks. He heard Sawyer groaning in his sick pleasure and he felt Sawyer run his hands through his hair. _

_"P-please.....s-stop." Charlie whimpered, "I-it hurts.....take it out.....please." _

_"Don't think so, Chuck. You're all mine." Sawyer said. _

_Charlie bit his lower lip until it bled while trying to keep from crying out. He moaned in pain as he felt blood start to trickle out of his opening. _

_"Oh, you like that, do you?" Sawyer said, hearing Charlie's moans of pain. _

_Charlie groaned in agony as Sawyer's thrusts sped up as he neared his release. Hearing Charlie moans and whimpers of pain made Sawyer more aroused than ever and he groaned loudly as he released his hot seed inside Charlie. _

_"That was mighty nice." Sawyer whispered in Charlie's ear, "What say we do it again?" _

_Charlie whimpered as Sawyer turned him over onto his back and spread his legs apart. Sawyer layed between Charlie's legs and gripped his wrists, holding them to he ground at either side of his head. Sawyer roughly kissed Charlie's bloody lips, forcing his tongue into his mouth. Charlie's cries were muffled by Sawyer as he swirled his tongue inside his mouth. Charlie struggled and tried to kick him away, but Sawyer held him firmly to the ground. Sawyer drew away from the kiss in need of air. _

_"Is this how you like it?" he asked._

_A frown crossed his face when Charlie did not reply._

_"Is it?!" he asked roughly, tightening his grip on Charlie's wrists. _

_Charlie whimpered and nodded, afraid of what Sawyer would do if he didn't agree. Sawyer groaned as he hardened again, hearing Charlie whimper and cry in the dirt beneath them. He wastde no time in shoving his shaft inside Charlie's bleeding entrance. Charlie moaned loudly, biting his lip to keep from screaming in agony. _

_"Say you like it." Sawyer said as he began thrusting._

_"I-I l-like it." Charlie whimpered._

_Sawyer groaned, "Say you love me. Say it!" _

_"Never." Charlie said. _

_As punishment, Sawyer pounded at a new angle, going much deeper inside Charlie, making him whimper loudly. _

_"Say it!" Sawyer said, pressing firmly inside Charlie, making him writhe in pain and cry. _

_"No!" Charlie said, "I hate you!"_

_Charlie spat in Sawyer's face, making Sawyer stunned for a split second._

_"You're gonna regret that." he said, wiping the spit from his face. _

_He took up a fast, steady pace, thrusting roughly inside Charlie. Charlie closed his eyes and cried, trying to pretend it was all a horrible nightmare and he would wake up at any moment....._

_(END FLASHBACK)_

Jack fought back tears as Charlie told him what happened.....how Sawyer had defiled him.....how he had hurt him almost beyond healing.

"Oh, Charlie......" Jack whispered, taking Charlie into his arms.

Charlie held tightly to Jack, crying into his shoulder.

"H-help me, Jack." Charlie cried, "Please make the pain stop."

Jack wished more than anything that he could make Charlie's pain and suffering go away. He was bond and determined to get the truth out of Sawyer if it was the last thing he did....or the last thing Sawyer did.....

A/N: HA! Bet you weren't expecting THAT!!! *laughs evilly and goes off to raid the fridge for cheese puffs and root beer*. LOL!


	8. Torture

Chapter 8: Torture

Once Charlie's cries had mostly subsided, Jack layed him gently down on the pallet and stepped out of the tent. He walked over to where Sayid stood over in the kitchen, eating a banana. As he walked, he heard the other survivors still muttering amongst themselves.

"Sayid, I need your help." he said, leaning on the table with his hands.

"With what?" Sayid asked, swallowing a bite of banana.

"We're gonna get the truth out of Sawyer." Jack said.

"Why? Charlie already told you what happened; don't you believe him?" Sayid asked.

"God knows I believe him......but I wanna hear it from Sawyer. I wanna hear him scream it as he begs for his life." Jack said.

"You want us to torture him." Sayid said.

"Yes. Go take him to the clearing in the jungle where we had him when he wouldn't give us Shannon's inhalers." Jack said.

Sayid nodded and discarded the rest of his half-eaten banana. Sayid walked over to where they had Sawyer tied to a tree at the edge of the camp.

"What do you want, Abdul?" he asked, a smirk on his face.

"Jack wants the truth." Sayid said, walking around behind him and untying his hands.

Jack stepped back into his tent and saw Charlie curled up in a ball on the pallet, whimpering weakly. He walked over and knelt down beside him.

"Hey." he said softly.

Charlie looked up, his eyes red and puffy.

"We're gonna see if Sawyer will admit what he did. You wanna come?" Jack asked.

Charlie nodded and sat up. He followed Jack closely, trying to avoid the prying stares of the survivors. Jack lead him through the jungle, his arm wrapped protectively around his shoulders. Charlie had his arms wrapped around himself, as if he were scared someone were about to hit him at any minute.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Jack asked as they neared the clearing.

"Yes." Charlie whispered, "I'm ready."

They entered the clearing and saw Sawyer tied to the same tree he had been tied to the last time they were here. Charlie whimpered and froze when he saw Sawyer.

"It's okay, baby. It's okay." Jack whispered into his ear, "You're doing so good."

Charlie took a deep breath and walked a few more feet into the clearing, standing off to the side a little so he was not in the way. He almost shook with fear when Sawyer stared at him with a cruel smirk on his face.

"Doesn't this place bring back memories?" Sayid asked, sharpening a piece of bamboo, "Remember why we were here?"

"Yeah, just like now, it was for somethin' I didn't do." Sawyer said.

"Shall be begin?" Sayid asked, "Did you rape Charlie?"

"You know I didn't." Sawyer said.

"Then how did he get those bruises? How was he so severely traumatized? How do yo explain that?" Sayid asked.

Sawyer only stared at him.

"I see we're going to have to approach this the hard way." Sayid said, walking around behind Sawyer and kneeling down.

Sawyer groaned in pain as Sayid inserted the sharpened piece of bamboo underneath one of his fingernails.

"Well?" Sayid asked.

"Is that all you got?" Sawyer asked, gasping.

Sayid pushed the piece of bamboo further and Sawyer yelled in pain, writhing to break free of the ropes.

"Ready to cooperate?" Sayid asked, withdrawing the bamboo.

"D-don't stop now.....I think my sinuses are clearin'." Sawyer said.

Jack stepped up to him and delivered a hard punch to his face, making his nose bleed.

"You think this is funny?! You think this is a joke?!" he yelled in Sawyer face, "I know what you did! The whole camp knows by now!"

Sawyer brought his foot around on one side of Jack's legs and kicked his feet out from under him, sending him falling to the ground. Charlie closed is eyes and tensed as he heard Jack groan as he hit the ground with a dull thud. Jack quickly stood up and brushed the dirt from his jeans.

"Is that all _you_ got?" Jack taunted, "Admit what happened!"

"Let me talk to him." Sawyer said, motioning to Charlie.

"Why?" Jack asked.

"Let me talk to him and I'll tell you everything you wanna know." Sawyer said.

Jack looked questioningly at Charlie, who nodded slightly and walked oer to stand in front of Sawyer.

"Alone." Sawyer said, "I wanna talk to him alone."

Jack started to object when Charlie cut in.

"I'll be all right." he said quietly to Jack.

"Okay." Jack said.

Sayid stepped out from around behind Sawyer and stepped out of the clearing.

"If he does anything.....anything.....you just scream." Jack whispered into Charlie's ear before following Sayid.

Charlie watched them leave, his heart pounding in fear. He tried to push the horrible memories to the back of him mind as he turned back to Sawyer.

"What do you want?" he asked.

"You know I don't _give _anything away. I'm willin' to make a bargain here." he said.

"What do you want?" Charlie repeated.

"A kiss oughtta do it." Sawyer said.

"F-from me?" Charlie asked.

Sawyer nodded, "You want the truth, don't you?"

Charlie closed his eyes and nodded. He took a shuddering breath to steady himself and he knelt down in front of Sawyer. He trembled in fear as the memories flooded back to him. He closed his eyes so he would not have to look into Sawyer's cold eyes and forced himself to lean forward......

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"What are they doing? What is he saying to him?" Jack asked, pacing back and forth.

"You as well as I do." Sayid said from his perch atop a small boulder.

Jack sighed loudly and ran his fingers through his hair impatiently. Suddenly, they heard a blood-curling scream echo through the air. Jack's heart froze for a mere second before he broke into a run, tears sliding down his cheeks. Sayid quickly followed his as he ran back to the clearing. When they entered the clearing, they saw Sawyer had broken free of the ropes that had held him to the tree and he was attacking Charlie. He had Charlie pinned to the ground, laying between his legs and holding his hands to the ground above his head as if he were going to rape him again. Charlie struggled wildly to escape and tears poured down his cheeks.

"HELP!!! JACK, HELP ME!!!" Charlie screamed in fear.

Jack and Sayid ran forward and Sayid tackled Sawyer to the ground.

"Charlie! Charlie, are you all right? Can you hear me?" Jack asked, holding Charlie in his arms.

Charlie only cried in fear and held tightly to Jack as he gently rocked him back and forth.

"Get him outta here! Lock him in the gun vault in the Hatch." Jack said to Sayid, who struggled to hold Sawyer still.

Sayid nodded and dragged Sawyer out of the clearing. Jack turned back to Charlie, and gently stroked his hair as he cried.

"Shhh, shh, it's okay. He's gone now. He won't hurt you anymore." Jack gently comforted.

Jack closed his eyes and rested his chin atop Charlie's head. He blamed himself fully for this; he should have never left Charlie alone with Sawyer. How could he have done that?! He should have known Sawyer would try something; why didn't he see it coming?!

"It's okay, Charlie. It's okay. I'm here. You're safe now." Jack whispered.

"I-I-I was so s-scared." Charlie cried, "He tried to do it again!"

"I know, baby. It's all right now." Jack said.

"I can't do this. I can't do this." Charlie said.

"Yes, you can, Charlie. I know you can get through this. We'll get through this together.....I promise." Jack said.

"C-can we go back to the beach?" Charlie asked, looking up at Jack with pitiful eyes.

"Of course we can." Jack said, "Do you think you can walk?"

Charlie nodded and Jack helped him to stand on his shaky legs. Jack held him steady with an arm held securely around his lower back. Charlie whimpered weakly and he shook as they walked.

"I w-was s-so scared. I thought he w-was gonna hurt me again." Charlie said, his eyes wide with fear.

"I know, but it's okay now. Sayid has him locked down in the Hatch. He can't get to you." Jack comforted gently.

Jack and Charlie reached the beach and quickly went to their tent. Charlie sat down on the edge of the pallet and pulled his knees up to his chest, resting his chin on them.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Jack asked, sitting down next to him.

Charlie shook his head, sniffling.

"Could I um....have a little time alone?" Charlie asked.

"Sure." Jack said, gently patting his shoulder.

Jack stood up and silently walked out of the tent, leaving Charlie alone to his thoughts. Charlie wiped the tears from his eyes and looked at the tape across his fingers that read 'LATE'. He reached into his backpack, which was situated beside the head of the pallet and he took out a small roll of white tape. He peeled off the old tape that adorned the fingers of his left hand and placed them in the front pocket of his backpack. He carefully made new 'rings' of tape and placed them non his fingers. He took his black Sharpie out of his back pocket and uncapped it. He held up his left hand and wrote the letters 'J-A-C-K' across the new tape, smiling slightly at his handiwork. He re-capped the Sharpie marker and put it back in his back pocket and reached into his backpack once more. He took out his black notebook. The cover of the notebook was battered and worn around the edges much like its owner. Written on the front of it was 'Charlie's Songs'. Sticky notes of a variety of different colors protruded from all around the edges and they were bent and some were torn. He opened it to a fresh page and took out an ink pen. He leaned back on the pallet and began writing away. He did this frequently, letting his thoughts and emotions pour forth onto the paper. Sometimes, he would sit and write for hours on end, most of the time playing his guitar to set a tune for the songs he wrote. Some of the songs didn't have a tune or ever rhyme; he just wrote what he felt. Every now and then, he would write a diary page, but mostly it was just songs. His pen scratched across the stained paper, writing his deepest thoughts at the moment:

_I am left here to die.  
__All alone I stand  
__Making my way up the path,  
__Recapturing my life,  
__My heart,  
__The fragments of my once reality  
__Floating just beyond my grasp.  
__Then come the demons:  
__They take me away,  
__They rip my dreams from me,  
__They remind me of my pain,  
__They rip at my dead heart,  
__Feeding on my soul,  
__Taking all that's left.  
__But still I walk this path,  
__The shadows of the past  
__Shattering my dreams,  
__The hands that once guided me have gone,  
__Yet, still I stand,  
__Walking this lonely path,  
__All alone  
__Fighting the demons,  
__Living my illusions  
__Looking for the guardian  
__That had my soul....._

Tears streamed down Charlie's face as he wrote the last line. He felt so alone. He knew Jack was with him, but he could not help but feel like no one cared or understood. He silently closed his notebook and set it aside. He felt so ashamed, laying here crying like a little child. Those cold stares the other survivors had given him when they found out what had happened would haunt him forever; leaving scars on his heart. Even Claire had given him a cold look and turned away. He just wished everything would just stop. He wished he could just go and hide away from the rest of the world. He felt so weak, so vulnerable. He knew Sawyer was locked down in the Hatch, but he was in constant fear of turning around and seeing his face staring back at him. No matter what he did, he could not get those horrible memories from entering his mind. He was constantly having to relive this horrible experience....to relive the pain.....to relive the fear.....to relive the betrayal. He didn't know if he could go on like this the rest of his life.

A/N: Just so you know, I did not write the poem in this chapter. I found it on a different website and I do not know who wrote it. So, whoever wrote this, I give the full credit to.


End file.
